


a lesson in love

by loveswan



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Premarital Kissing, Rinne don't look, Studying, after-school
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:47:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27723020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveswan/pseuds/loveswan
Summary: Hiiro and Aira had to go back to Yumenosaki after MDM.But Aira wasn't happy with his highschool life devoid of idols in a school for idols.
Relationships: Amagi Hiiro/Shiratori Aira
Comments: 4
Kudos: 69





	a lesson in love

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY AIRA!! I LOVE YOU SO SO MUCH but this isn't the place to lovemail Aira so here is my meagre offering to celebrate the birth of the world's loveliest idol. This isn't exactly a birthday fic (because I wanted to see what canon would do with it first) but rather something I told myself I should write in order to express my love on Aira's birthday. I'm sorry if it sucks. I feel like I couldn't describe things properly and get all the feelings across but thank you for wanting to read anyway!
> 
> This is part of a collab with Teddy. Check out their part of the collab [here](https://twitter.com/teddydesi/status/1332141809846239233?s=19)!
> 
> And Thank You So Much [gigi (@amagiiz)](https://twitter.com/amagiiz) for proofreading this fic and making it sound a million times better. And of course, thanks to all my other friends who helped me! <3  
>    
> I love hiiai more than words can describe.

Aira unconsciously chewed on the back of his pen, distracted. 

"Mhm," he hummed softly, staring at the big board covered with scribbled-on numbers in front of him. He sighed and bent over his notebook, which was nearly empty besides the little hearts he had doodled in a corner. 

"Mhmhm~" 

Aira's lips formed the usual tune again. And before long, he was softly singing to himself instead of working his way through incomprehensible digits and symbols, his cheeks slightly flushed as his mind filled with thoughts of performing the song on stage. He would sparkle so much and the audience would seem like glimmers of light looking up at him. 

"Shiratori-kun..." A small hand on his shoulder coupled with a soft voice forcibly pulled Aira out of his fantasies.

"You were singing just now," a boy with short black hair and timid eyes whispered to him, a hand partially covering his mouth to avoid drawing attention to their conversation.

Aira blinked at him in surprise for a second before snapping back to his senses.

"Ah, I'm sorry." He flashed an embarrassed smile at the boy before turning back to his notebook, cheeks slightly red thanks to his thoughtless actions.

_It's 'cause I'm not used to this. I've been spending every day practising away at ES...Coming to school and sitting in class makes me feel so out of place…_

"I just wanna go back already," Aira sighed and pouted to himself. He felt like there was nothing there for him anymore. Like a child who was cruelly dragged out of a candy store, just when Aira had finally gotten close to the thing he treasured the most, he was forced to pull away from it.

The sound of the school bell ringing in the distance disrupted these depressing thoughts. Aira breathed a sigh of relief and stood up as his teacher started leaving the classroom. He rushed to gather his books and dumped them into his schoolbag, along with his pens and highlighters. The contents of the bag were slightly messier than he would have liked, but that wasn't as important as getting out of this suffocating classroom. 

Aira didn't _hate_ his class...but he wasn't very familiar with his classmates, and he wasn't very fond of feeling like an outsider either. At that moment, the only thought on his mind was to run out and meet his closest friend and unit-mate — a boy who was, sadly, a year older than him. Those were the only circumstances where he could truly feel at home. However—

"Aira!" A clear, unnecessarily loud voice rang through the classroom. Aira slightly shook in surprise, almost dropping his belongings, and turned towards the source of the voice. Everyone around him suddenly started whispering, which was embarrassing enough to make his face turn slightly red. He knew that there was only one person in the world who called out to him in that way.

_Hiro-kun, you idiot! What are you even doing?_

"Aira! I had assumed that you would be lonely, so I decided to come and search for you, my friend." The older boy beamed a full smile at the first-year student, eagerly waiting for him to respond. He was standing at the entrance of the classroom, looking in with his schoolbag slung over his shoulder. The scene wasn’t very different from that of an eager puppy excitedly wagging his tail, waiting for his master to play with him.

Aira sighed and took in a deep breath. He was mildly irritated but he was used to Hiiro's loud and inappropriate actions by now. He knew that he needed to remain calm. So, he wordlessly walked towards Hiiro. 

"Hiro-kun, what're you doing here? I mean, it's not like I didn't _want_ to see you but—" The loud whispers echoed in his ears. "This is _my_ classroom, you know?"

"Yes, I'm aware! But the school day is over and it's time to go home. I wanted to accompany you to ES," Hiiro chirped in a bright voice.

Aira sighed to himself and Hiiro looked around with innocent eyes marked with confusion.

"I wonder why everyone is staring at us. Did I do anything wrong? If so, I deeply apologize."

Aira looked up only to be met with Hiiro's apologetic face. "Hiro-kun…"

_When you look at me like that, how am I supposed to get angry at you?_

"Ugh! Hiro-kun, let's go home." Aira's tone was slightly commanding as he tried to drown out all the noise using his words. 

"Yes, my friend!"

"...friend," Aira caught a few people whispering the word as he frantically grabbed Hiiro by the arm and dragged him away from the classroom.

_I mean...we're only friends, anyway._

"Aira." Hiiro looked at his companion, who was struggling to drag him with all his might, and seemed perplexed by his sudden behaviour. "Could it be that some of my actions have made you angry?"

"Huh?!" Aira’s tone was a bit sharp as he paused to face Hiiro. And that was when he felt especially conscious of the countless eyes watching the two of them scuffling in the hallway. Embarrassed, Aira let go of Hiiro’s arm, and straightened his uniform, which had become ruffled in the process.

"...Sorry, Hiro-kun," Aira mumbled softly.

"Oh, there’s absolutely no need to apologize! I understand that you were only in a hurry to reach ES as early as possible."

Aira let out another sigh. Amagi Hiiro was always like this — an exasperating combination of dense and nice.

"You need to be a little more self-aware, y'know? Let’s go, Hiro-kun." Aira started walking, gently pulling Hiiro by the sleeve of his uniform to get him to do the same.

Without even turning to him, Aira could feel a smile light up Hiiro’s face. The smaller boy relaxed a bit at the presence of his closest companion next to him. They walked through the halls of Yumenosaki; Aira was quiet, lost in his thoughts and feeling grateful for this opportunity to be outside and closer to idols again. They changed their shoes and exited the school building, soaked in the evening sun.

"How did your classes go today? I hope that you were able to reason out everything that was taught?" The seemingly harmless, innocent question popped the happy bubble in Aira's mind and brought him back to his cruel reality.

"Huh?! Why do you care? It's not like _you_ have problems with your classes or anything, right?" Aira shot back, his tone sharper than he intended.

"I was wondering whether you needed some help — ouch!" Hiiro's words got cut off by Aira hitting the side of his head with his schoolbag, which the younger boy had suddenly swung at him.

"Aira, you mustn't exhibit such violent behaviour in public." Hiiro stopped to gently rub his head before continuing to walk. "If you wish to spar, maybe you should visit the karate club with me after school one day. I would gladly engage in a match with you!"

"Who would be dumb enough to fight with a wild animal like you? Did I hit your head too hard or something?"

"No, I'm quite fine! Aira might be violent but you're still small and lacking in strength. That’s why I thought that you could perhaps benefit from practising martial arts—"

"Hiro-kun," Aira sighed dramatically, "You're supposed to say that I'm small and _cute._ "

"Oh, Aira is very cute!" Hiiro lightly laughed, looking down at the shorter boy with sparkling eyes.

Aira's cheeks flushed a light pink.

_Why now? Isn't it too late for me to start feeling like this?_

"Aira..." The blond boy looked up to see his friend bearing a sudden serious expression. 

"I happened to meet Isara-senpai from your basketball club today."

Aira's feet froze.

"He requested for me to help you with your schoolwork since you seemed to be having trouble with it."

"I don't need any help, you moron," Aira firmly brushed off the offer. "On the other hand, I think _you_ need help understanding that."

"Aira…" Hiiro looked concerned. "I may be an idiot, and I can understand that you doubt my abilities. However, I _do_ wish to help you. I'm just concerned, my friend. I simply do not want to see you cry again — ow."

"Do you want me to dump ketchup on you again, you ketchup-head?!" Aira fumed, swinging his bag again.

The ketchup-head in question momentarily looked at the other boy before calmly taking a seat on the ground, legs crossed and schoolbag on his lap. 

"H-Hiro-kun?!! What're you doing?! We're still in school!"

He swiftly opened his bag and rummaged through its contents before fishing out a pair of rectangular strips of paper, which shone in the evening sun and immediately caught the eyes of Aira.

"W-what are those?" Aira’s emerald eyes were sparkling as he longingly stared at the objects like a cat eyeing a stray mouse. At that moment, matters like Hiiro sitting on the dirty ground and the curious eyes of the passer-bys seemed insignificant.

"Tickets for a live," Hiiro explained.

"I know that! But these aren’t tickets for just _any_ live, are they?" Aira bit his lower lip in anticipation. "Hiro-kun, could it be that you don’t know the value of what you're holding?"

Hiiro stared blankly at Aira. "I’m not entirely certain, but I’ve been told that these are usually quite expensive to acquire."

"Not just expensive! They're also super rare too! How the heck did you get your hands on them?!" Aira's eyes shone brightly as he shot loving glances at the tickets.

"Aira, do you want them?" Hiiro asked as he closed his bag and stood up from the ground, oblivious towards the many eyes closely following his actions.

"Of course I do! Also, stop ignoring my question, Hiro-kun! Where did you _get these_?!"

"I won them in a supermarket lottery, but I can give them to you."

Aira froze. This was his opportunity. All he had to do was _take_ the tickets. But—

"What do you want, Hiro-kun?" Aira's yearning looks turned into ones filled with suspicion. Of course there _had_ to be some ulterior motive here.

"Want?" Hiiro tilted his head to the side as he looked questioningly. "I don't think there is anything I require right now."

Aira held his breath.

"So, you're just _giving_ me these tickets? You don't want anything in return? At all?"

"Is that how it's supposed to be? Am I supposed to ask for something in return?"

Aira let out the breath he was holding.

_Why is dealing with this guy so exhausting?_

"Hiro-kun, don't you understand? I'd do _anything_ for these tickets, but you're just.. _.giving_ them to me. How do I say it..." Aira looked away, exasperated.

"Aira," Hiiro moved forward and grabbed the younger boy's arm. "Do you want me to ask you for something?"

Aira flinched from the sudden touch and stepped back on reflex, his cheeks blushing a light pink. He had been certain that he was used to Hiiro's frequent unexpected physical contact by now , but the warm feeling of the boy's skin over the sleeve of his own jacket didn't fail to fluster Aira. He looked up to see Hiiro's piercing blue eyes staring at him intently and sighed.

"It's not like _I_ want you to do that. But if _you_ want something in return…" Aira tried to explain.

"I see," Hiiro's expression turned thoughtful as his grasp on Aira's arm loosened.

"Also, can you let go of my arm already?!" Aira momentarily stared at the older boy's beautiful features before pushing his arm away. "I know you have a habit of getting too close, but we're in public, remember? People might misunderstand."

"Ah! I'm very sorry," Hiiro apologised as he moved his hand away.

 _But why do I miss the warmth already?_ Aira looked away for a second to calm his fast-beating heart.

"So," Hiiro seemed deep in thought again. "You will do anything I want in return?"

Aira gulped audibly. "W-what do you mean by _anything_?"

"Aira," Hiiro's expression turned grim as he grabbed the blond boy's smaller hands and squeezed them together using his own, his sparkling eyes akin to shiny stars. "Study with me, my friend!"

"Huh?! No way, you idiot! Let go of my hands!" His ears grew red at the sound of whisperings but he didn't shake off Hiiro's firm grip.

"But," Hiiro pleaded with puppy-dog eyes. "Didn't you say that you would do anything?"

"Oh god! Just let me go already!" Aira tried to protest. He knew that he couldn't look at those eyes again. "Ugh! Fine! Whatever! Just let go of my hands!"

"So, you will study with me?" The redhead's face started glowing like the sun again.

"Y-yeah…"

"Then, let’s get started! I guarantee that I will do my best to assist you!" Hiiro beamed his brightest smile at his hesitant companion as he finally let go of his hands, determined.

"Wait, Hiro-kun—"

  


* * *

  


Aira looked out through the window and sighed for the millionth time that day, his eyes tracing the paths followed by the birds returning home, his mind lost in their chirps and cries.

"Is there something you don't understand, Aira?" A tuft of curly red hair rose up as its owner spoke.

The two were sitting in an empty classroom, at desks with chairs carefully arranged so that they would face each other. This was the agreement between them. Aira would let Hiiro help him as long as nobody else would find out about it. This restriction meant that they couldn't use the library or any other public place, and the anxiety of being together, all alone in a place where anything could happen and nobody would even know — that wasn't something Aira had prepared himself for. In fact, the very _thought_ had made his head spin.

However, once they had entered the classroom and arranged the desks, Hiiro had diligently taken out his books and stationary and prompted a very hesitant-looking Aira to do the same. And before he knew it, Aira had once again been faced with his near-empty notebook and a textbook of math problems he had to work through — this time in the company of a boy who never failed to tire him out.

_Well, what did I even think? We're here to do work after all. And it's not like this is the first time we've been alone together._

"Aira?" Concerned eyes questioned him again.

Aira briefly looked at his friend before letting out another sigh. 

"I was right. I'm not cut out for this kinda work after all. I mean, it's not like I wanna flunk on purpose but it can't be helpe-"

"Aira, don't say that!" Hiiro moved forward and covered Aira's mouth with his hands before he could finish.

Aira's thoughts were a mess as he tried to regain his composition and calm the rising heat on his cheeks that formed from the feeling of Hiiro’s hand warming his lips. They weren’t as soft as they should be for an idol, but they were definitely strong and suitable for a fitness nerd.

_I blame him for being too forward and yet I expect him to do things. But when he actually does do something, I'm unable to accept it. But that's just because I—_

"Aira, if an idiot like me could easily solve these equations, then I'm sure that you will be able to defeat them too!"

Anger surged through Aira as he hastily separated himself from Hiiro using his left hand, his right hand grabbing a stray ruler and striking it forcefully right between Hiiro's red tinted eyebrows.

"Of course you're an idiot!" Aira spoke through cheeks puffed in rage. "Every time I start liking you a bit more, you say something unnecessary and ruin everything!"

"Aira—"

"You have next to no delicacy and I've never _ever_ seen anyone before who's a natural like you at being totally terrible at reading the mood. Honestly, why do I even expect anything from you? It's not like we're the same, anyway. There's no way you'll ever even _begin_ to understand. I—"

Tears started spilling onto the desk littered with books, and then onto the dusty classroom floor as Aira tried to fight back his frustration.

_This is so embarrassing. Why am I crying over something so stupid?_

Aira tried to get up, aggressively pushing back his desk as he grabbed his bag.

_But...I'm not like Hiro-kun._  
_I'm actually a useless human being who can't even be compared to him._

Aira turned to leave — but a big, strong hand stopped him as it wrapped around the thin fingers of his right one. He turned around, only to be faced with gentle blue eyes softly glistening with almost invisible tears as they looked at him, pleading for another chance. Aira felt a rush of guilt and shame run through his body.

_He never did anything wrong and yet I blame him to justify my ego. ‘I’ made him cry because of my selfishness. I’m so cruel. I don't even deserve to—_

Aira looked away, unable to bear the sight.

_I love him._

_And yet...  
I'm unable to say it. _

"Aira, I'm not fully certain what I did wrong, but I feel incredibly sorry. Please..." a soft voice quaking with worry gently touched his ears. " _Please_ don't leave me…"

Aira's body slightly quivered at those words.

_Hiro-kun, I—_

"...love you."

Hiiro's ears perked up and his grip on Aira's hand loosened at the sound of this word he was so unfamiliar with — love.

"I would… _never_ leave you. I—" Aira turned around, steeling himself, determined to not let this opportunity to pass by.

"I…love you...Hiro-kun," the words came out in gasps. It definitely wasn’t easy to admit, but Aira wanted to be honest for once. Even if his heart started hurting dangerously, he didn't want to bring any more pain to the one he loved the most. 

Hiiro shifted and slowly stood up from his desk, fingers still wrapped around Aira's as he faced the shorter boy, looking at his pale tear-stained face. Hiiro had always appreciated Aira's beautiful features;he glanced at them longingly as his right index finger came in contact with his salty tears and carefully wiped them away. Aira closed his eyes on impulse, his heartbeat quickening yet again from the gentle touch.

The taller boy wrapped his right arm around Aira's smaller frame, holding him in a tender embrace before quietly pressing his lips against Aira's soft moisturised ones, earning a small yelp of surprise from the recipient of his kiss.

Hiiro had never experienced such a feeling before. Of course, he loved to cover Aira in warm hugs and hold his hand and play with his hair. He loved to touch Aira and feel close to him. But this feeling — it was euphoric. Aira's lips melted against his own as he kissed back, slightly shaking. 

He shifted his arm upwards to hold Aira's head in place as he pressed harder against his lips, softly ruffling his silky blond hair. Aira's grip on their connected hands tightened, but Hiiro didn't pick up the sign and instead continued the kiss, enjoying the taste of the love he was so foreign to.

And Aira felt the same. But he was also breathless and overwhelmed and his endless tugs at Hiiro's uniform had no effect. So he lightly kicked Hiiro's knee to get him to pull back, cheeks red and panting. 

"W-what are you even doing?!"

The light from the evening sun escaped through the window and reflected on Hiiro's breathless flushed cheeks, the sight of which made Aira turn bright crimson. Thankfully, it was probably too dark to see.

"N-nii-san…Nii-san told me that love is about...doing that…" Hiiro managed to somehow speak. "Now that I think about it, he also said something else about it that I don't remember very clearly."

Aira narrowed his eyes in pretend-annoyance, trying to calm the colour on his cheeks and catch his own breath.

_It felt good._

He looked out the window at the setting sun, mildly embarrassed and remembering the firm touch of Hiiro's pure innocent lips against his own — that was a feeling he had wanted to experience for a long time, one he never thought he would get to experience except in his childish dreams, one he would never forget.

"Well, I don't mind or anything. Actually...I'd like to do it again but..." He turned back his head to face Hiiro. "We're at school, you moron!" Aira moved forward and playfully hit him on the head, softly chuckling as Hiiro slightly winced.

The colour of the sunset warmly glowed on Aira's cheeks as he laughed at Hiiro's reaction, his pleasant features dyed in a light blush.

_Aira is smiling._

A sudden, unexplainable warmth filled Hiiro as he looked at the younger boy laughing between tears, and his own face relaxed to a similar soft smile as he reached for the other's and tenderly held it in his left hand. "Aira, I love you too."

Aira froze for a second before gently reaching for the hand holding his cheek, tears of relief and happiness streaming down his face.

"Aira…" Hiiro stepped closer, eyes filled with concern at the sight of new tears. Aira took that opportunity to reach for his lips, tugging his shirt to pull him down, forcibly closing the gap between them. Hiiro's eyes widened at the sudden touch of soft lips. He hadn't expected a second kiss — not when Aira had scolded him for the first one. He slowly wrapped his arms around the blond boy again, holding him close and letting him lead this time. Aira finally pulled back and collapsed happily onto Hiiro's chest, letting himself get held close by the older boy who lovingly stroked his hair. He wrapped himself in Hiiro's scent, breathing in the sweet smell of his sweat as he buried himself deeper into his clothes, his tears wetting Hiiro's shirt.

"Don't cry, my friend."

_Friend. Well, I guess we're still friends...even if we become something more too._

"You're so weird, Hiro-kun," Aira chuckled.

"I thought you loved me?"

"Well," Aira looked up for a moment. "It's the same thing, after all." He smiled with soft eyes and Hiiro blushed just a little at the angelic picture. He didn't really understand love yet, but he knew that he loved Aira and somehow that was enough.

"In the end," Hiiro said when Aira finally pulled away, "we weren’t able to achieve our goal for the day."

"Well, it's not like I could have done a lot with you teaching me anyway." 

"I see…" Hiiro's face fell and he remorsefully looked at the floor. 

"Wait! Wait!" Aira waved his hands frantically. He sighed again.

_Things will never change even after all that, huh?_

"I still need the tickets for the live, y'know?" Aira tried to keep a cool face, turning his face again so that his eyes wouldn’t give him away. "That's why I even agreed to this stupid thing in the first place."

"Fufu…" He heard the sudden sound of light laughter.

"W-why are you laughing?" Aira asked, mildly offended.

"Yeah, now I understand."

"Huh?"

"I think," Hiiro smiled softly. "Now I understand Aira a bit more."

Aira blushed with embarrassment. "It's not like—" he started protesting. "Never mind..." 

Aira tried to sound tired as he plopped himself down on his chair. "I’ll…let you teach me a bit, 'kay? So come with me to the live."

"You want me to go to the live with you?" Hiiro took his seat opposite Aira's.

"Who else besides you is here, you dummy?"

"You should have just been honest from the start. And the tickets are with me, remember?" 

Aira stared at this new side of Hiiro that was no longer looking apologetic, but instead showing him a playful smile.

"...Hiro-kun is so unfair," Aira murmured to himself.

"Hm? Aira?"

"Hiro-kun, will you...take me to the live with you?" Aira asked, suddenly feeling meek.

"Of course!"

"Yay! Rabu~i!" Aira exclaimed softly.

"...And Aira will study with me every evening after school!"

Aira's face fell for a moment before he looked up with bright, determined eyes. "Well, fine! It can be our own little study date. But y’know what? Even though I’m no good right now, I'll _definitely_ beat you and get the best results in my year…even if you’re a year above me!"

"Ahaha…" Hiiro laughed nervously. "I could almost feel shivers run up my spine."

"Are you teasing me, Hiro-kun? I'm not gonna go easy on you, y'know?"

"Mhm, I understand. I would have it no other way, my friend."

"Now help me with this problem, Hiro-kun. I was sleeping in class," Aira extended his notebook.

"Aira…Now that’s being a bit too honest," Hiiro smiled as he leaned in to help.

_It feels so strange. Hiro-kun is pointing out my mistakes instead of me correcting him like usual. I wanna help Hiro-kun but...maybe, once in a while, it's okay to let him help me…_

"Aira…" Hiiro broke into his thoughts, his expression grim. "I don't really understand 'love'." 

Aira's eyes widened with fear. Was Hiiro rejecting him? After everything that had just happened?

"It doesn't seem to be something I can simply solve or read about and understand. But...if you will let me teach you how to learn, then I want to let you teach me how to 'love'. Is that okay?"

Aira paused for a second. "Then why did you _kiss_ me, you idiot?!"

"Because…" Hiiro's face suddenly started turning red as he struggled to speak. "I felt like I wanted to…with Aira…"

Aira fought against his own reddening cheeks as he tried to grasp the meaning behind Hiiro’s words. 

_So even Hiro-kun has a side like this, I see._

He smiled. "Mhm, it's a deal!"

"Aira, your little finger looks very tiny and cute, but why are you reaching it out to me?"

_This is so childish. What am I even doing?_

"Just...shake it...with your little finger," Aira tried to act annoyed.

Hiiro complied and they shook their pinkies together ceremoniously.

"So, now it’s a promise, and Hiro-kun has to stay with me forever, okay?"

"Yes, Aira! I will never leave your side!"

The couple exchanged warm smiles as they sat across from each other, even though it was too dark for them to see each other's features clearly.

_We still have a long way to go._

_But don’t worry, Hiro-kun. I’ll teach you everything you need to know...even if I don't really know anything myself yet._

_The same way you taught me friendship…even when you had no friends._

**Author's Note:**

> Rinne gets upset and tries to get them to marry when he finds out that Hiiro hadn't heard the latter (and most important) part of his love advice. I'm (not) sorry for this mess.
> 
> Thank you for reading till the end!
> 
> twt [@hiiairabu](https://twitter.com/hiiairabu)


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